Detroit ditched Darius Slay three years ago, and the Lions haven't had a No. 1 corner since. They've had stand-ins and imitators, from Desmond Trufant to Amani Oruwariye to Jeff Okudah, but no one who truly fits the bill. Cam Sutton is here to change that.
"Oh, 100 percent," Sutton said. "100 percent."
Sutton, 28, was the prize of the Lions' offseason spending spree, a rising player at a premium position. Coming off a season in which he had 15 passes defended for the Steelers, sixth most in the NFL, he signed a three-year, $33 million with Detroit to help fix a broken secondary. Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner Johnson followed in free agency, then Brian Branch in the draft. Suddenly, the weakness of last year's team looks like a strength.
On top of the newcomers, the Lions bring back safeties Kerby Joseph and Tracy Walker and cornerback Jerry Jacobs. The group is long on talent, and perhaps more importantly, versatility. Sutton said it rivals some of the elite secondaries he was a part of during his five seasons in Pittsburgh.
"It’s definitely right up there," said Sutton. "You talk about position flexibility guys. That makes everyone's job easier and makes us not a stationary target, too. Anytime you just line up and play one side of the field, left and right, it’s obvious for teams to ID you and your coverage. You see so much of that now, teams spreading the ball around and pre-snap ID’ing with shifts and motions, just trying to see what defenses are in.
"So you gotta play the cat-and-mouse game, too, just give them something else to look at and play different coverages depending on down and distance. Like I said, we’re definitely a very flexible group."
If you couldn't tell, Sutton is a cerebral player. He diagnoses things quickly, like in Wednesday's joint practice with the Giants when New York's first-team offense ran a run-pass option out of a tight formation from the goal line. For Sutton, "you’re playing so many different perspectives of the game, you gotta be able to fit in the run game, a big double or crunch type set, so just holding leverage on that, and then with them attacking vertical, you’re fitting a crack release or you’re taking your guys vertical."
"These are the thought processes you’re thinking within milliseconds," he said.
In the end, Daniel Jones tried to hit Darius Slayton streaking across the back of the end zone and Sutton dove to break up the pass. A couple plays later, Sutton shut down a fade from Jones to Isaiah Hodgins. He had also erased a deep ball to Slayton in 7-on-7's earlier in the day. It was an up-and-down day for the Lions' defense as a whole, but another good one for Sutton, their No. 1 corner who wears No. 1.
Sutton stepped into that role last season in Pittsburgh after the retirement of Joe Haden. And he filled it well. Playing mostly on the outside, and mostly against the opposition's top receiver, Sutton held quarterbacks to a passer rating in coverage of 69.6, per Pro Football Focus. The Lions allowed a passer rating of 94.2 as a defense, which was actually their best mark in five years. They also allowed the most yards per completion in the NFL.
Defending the run remains a question mark for Detroit, but it already looks better defending the pass. Across the secondary, there are players making plays. Sutton has a chance to announce himself to the league this year, a lot like the Lions. His 29 passes defended the last three seasons are tied with Slay, the player this fanbase might miss more than any other. There's been a void in Detroit's defense, and Sutton feels the hunger to fill it.
"Hunger from the fanbase, but moreso hunger to myself," he said. "I got a lot to prove as a player and for myself personally. I’ll never get caught up in what he can or can’t do and all this other shi*t -- excuse me. I’m out here, I know what I grind for, I know what I work for, man. I’m a competitor.
"I give everything I got for these guys. I really enjoy this opportunity and this team. They’ve embraced me with welcoming open arms and just having that support behind you, that’s all you need."
Listen live to 97.1 The Ticket via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker